The Diamond of the Night
by Azrael-Doll
Summary: Three-shot that is a companion piece. So the ending is mostly the same! I am changing/adding onto the scenes which are already there. But I felt need justifying and expanding on. I'm not going to say what I've changed here as it's spoilers. SPOILERS FOR THE END OF MERLIN! (And other parts of the series.) Mentions of torture, not explicit!
1. The Battle of Camlann

**Short fic thing that I've concocted to work out my feelings about how 5x13 ended.**

**Note: This is a companion piece, so it is not AU. I am only changing/adding onto the scenes which are already there.**

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The Battle of Camlann.

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Arthur looked around the broken battlefield brandishing his sword wildly as he was surrounded, his knights cut off from him. His face grim his raised his weapon to attack when a crack of thunder rained down and threw the advancing Saxons back. Silence seemed to fall around them as the soldiers looked up to see the old warlock Dragoon watching on from the cliff top. Swords were hesitantly raised ready to back into action at a moment's notice; it was as if someone had called a halt. A piercing scream rang through the air as the witch Morgana called his name.

"EMRYS!" It travelled through the dead air, for a moment Arthur thought it would break the spell upon them but it seemed to only intensify it.

The old wizard responded with a bolt of lightly which Morgana blocked, "Come and face me you coward!" She yelled up at him as she walked into the frozen mêlée.

Huffing to himself the old wizard backed away from the edge before slowly walking onto the battlefield. The knights of Camelot slowly moved towards their King and the Saxons to Morgana. The armies parted as he walked past them, the smell of cooking flesh hung in the air.

"What do you want?" Dragoon said.

"Many things, the first of which is to see you dead."

"You cannot defeat me Morgana."

"No?" She asked nonchalantly, "I am a high priestess of the old religion and you're just a servant" She sneered, "Should I tell them? Should I tell your precious Camelot knights and their King? Should I tell them how often you've saved them? Should I tell them how much you care about them? Should I tell them who you really are?"

"Silence witch!" Dragoon shouted throwing another bolt of lightly at her hitting her in the stomach.

Doubling over she breathed in heavily, instead of backing down she just started laughing. "Touchy subject isn't it? I'm not surprised especially after everything you've been through, everything you've done." And with a flash of her eyes she sent the old warlock flying. He landed sprawled in the dirt as she slowly walked over to him, he groaned and got to his knees. "You could have helped me! I trusted you and you left me, I was nothing to you! You chose to leave me alone when I needed you most!"

The old warlock smiled, shocking everyone with what he said next, "You're quite right, I am to blame. I could have helped you but I was a coward, I chose to ignore what my conscious told me to do." The old wizard coughed using his staff to get to his feet before continuing, "Instead I gave you away to the druids and ignored the niggling doubt of my choices. I poisoned you, I betrayed you. And for that I am sorry. More sorry than I have ever been." He looked at her warily, "I gave you every chance in the world. I told you that it didn't have to be this way. But you didn't listen, instead you walked right into the arms of one who used you, and I, I pushed you into it. But you Morgana you betrayed me and everyone you cared about. They cared about you, even after your first betrayal they still trusted you, and they still wanted you back." He lowered his voice into a whisper, "I wanted you back." Morgana stared on in silence seemingly as entranced as everyone else, raising his voice again Dragoon continued. "But you were so blinded by your own loneliness and anger that you couldn't see it. You chose not to." The sorcerer sighed more pain creeping into his voice, "You were so full of kindness and beauty. We were both so innocent, so young. If I could do it over again, I would. Alas I cannot." And with the silent practise of a master his eyes lit up and her sent her flying backwards, the spell broke and the fighting began again. A storm of love, hate, betrayal, guilt and magic at it's centre as the darkness and light fought each other. Lighting flashed and the wind kicked as the magic users went flying, until Dragoon left the once good Morgana gasping in the dirt.

Tears trickled down her tired face, "Please, Emrys, help me." She whispered reaching out with her hand, before her eyes rolled back in her head and darkness consumed her.

"I'm sorry Morgana." The warlock stated, choking on the words before using his strength to decimate most of the remaining Saxons, sending them running for the hills, he hunted through the crowd looking for Arthur, desperate to get to his kings side.

But he was too late, during the confrontation Mordred had drawn near Arthur, he alone unaffected by the sight before him. Arthur had been separated from his men again when the fighting had broken out. Hearing the whisper of a blade Arthur turned and instinctively parried the death blow coming at him, before he saw who was in front of him. Hesitation written on his face as he stopped attacking and as the opponents' sword pierced through his armour. Disbelief fluttered across his face before grim resolution took its place as he plunged his sword into one of his former knights, into one of his former friends, into Mordred. The smile that lit up the young man's face broke Arthur's heart. Using the same resolution he had to kill him, he pulled the sword out, letting a man he'd once trusted with his life fall to the hard ground. His vision swam in front of him before collapsing. He had a vague relocation of being carried and the image of the old warlock before him.

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**A/N: T****here's more coming, but only for certain scenes which I felt needed more/something extra.**

**Please review!**

**If there are any scenes you want elaborating/enhancing let me know!**


	2. The Knight of Strength and the Nathair

**A/N: There's one or so more,, that's planned. Though I don't know whether to do a chapter that deals with what happens after the episode ended... (As in before the flashforward.)**

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The Knight of Strength and the Nathair.

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Gwaine's vision blurred as he woke up, the forest floor was the first thing to slide into focus it was dirty with mud and leaves, muted brown and green made up the colour. There was something wrong with how it looked though; the light didn't reach it properly. His head rolled as he shifted and felt resistance on his arms, the knight struggled against the bonds. His mind sharpened with clarity as he looked up to see the witch looking down at him, stopping some of the fading sunlight from reaching him.

"Gwaine." Morgana smirked, "You should have known it wouldn't have worked, did you come here to die?"

"I owed you for using Eira." He said with is cocky grin on his face.

"Doesn't it hurt you how I managed to worm my way into your life and into your sheets?"

"I'm flattered!" Gwaine laughed shrugging off the barbed insult even though it tore at his heart, "Getting into my sheets, as you put it, isn't hard. But our plan worked, you're far away from Arthur now. He's safe and you will die, it may not be by my hand, but you will. Everyone does."

"You don't possess any weapon that could kill me." Morgana scoffed, "But you do have something I want." The sorceress reached down and lifted up a box, "You know of the Nathair, no? You friend Elyan could tell you a bit about them, but from what I recall, he's dead. Though don't worry about that, you'll soon be joining him."

"Don't you dare speak his name, you're not worthy!" The knight struggled trying to defend his brother in arms.

Morgana just smiled and reached into the box lifting out a black snake. "Are you sure you don't want to just tell me and save yourself a lot of pain?"

"Go to hell!"

Her eyes turned colder, "Believe me I've been, I spent two long years there. I am usually a very patient person but trust me at the moment I am not." She leant forward so their faces were inches apart before hissing, "Unmicel snacc, suge tha sothan… swilcnesse!"

Gwaine could see her intricate green eyes light up with warm golden tones, it shouldn't be that way; such a creature of darkness shouldn't use such light, he thought as the serpent lashed out. He screamed into the fading day as the snake's venom coursed through him. "I… Won't… Tell you anything!" He gasped through the pain.

"Normally I'd delight at this, but as I said I am in a rush." She threaded the serpent through her fingers. "Did you know that the Nathair causes pain right in your very soul? It rips and burns it to pieces." She stared at the snake, giving the knight a chance to recuperate, "You're wondering why I'm telling you this, aren't you?" She said before answering her own question, "It's simple, if you tell me now you'll live, if you don't you'll feel more than just the taste you felt just then."

"You might as well just kill me now."

Morgana laughed, "I'm not going to kill you, not yet. Though I suppose I could always ask Percival and I'm sure my friend here could help."

Gwaine stiffened as she said his name, "Don't you dare!" He shouted leaning forward, bracing against the bonds, his voice came out thin and weak but how he could move after the Nathair's bite astounded Morgana.

She moved backwards slightly, "Such spirit, such strength." She smiled sadly as she set the serpent on him again, sending more cries through the forest.

Gwaine's vision was turning grey at the corners, his hands felt cold and his sense of smell had faded, but he could barely notice these things as the pain strummed through his body, through his very soul. It wasn't just physical but emotional and moral too. It brought up all his feelings and poisoned them, it turned his own thoughts against him and drove him near madness and what felt like decades of torture past by in minutes.

"Arthur. Elyan…" He gasped, "Leon… Percival, Gwen…" His eyes flickered, "Lancelot… Merlin…" He closed his eyes, in too much pain to even cry, "Give me strength."

"Do not say his name!" Morgana hissed.

"Merlin's? What's he done to you?"

"Too many things." She said quietly a sad story echoing in her eyes.

Gwaine chucked, "I'm glad."

Morgana smirked, "Would you be glad if I told you what he did, what he is?"

"What do you mean?" Gwaine breathed, not understanding why he was talking to her.

"He poisoned me. He turned me away when I went to him for help. Things could have been very different, but he was blinded by the fear of what might happen, that he left me broken, alone and afraid. Unable to confide in any of my friends as the one I'd trusted the most deserted me."

"Merlin wouldn't do that!" Gwaine said, the words she said stirring a memory in his mind.

Morgana laughed, "You really don't know anything about him, do you? Merlin's a warlock, the sorcerer known as Emrys."

"No. You're lying!"

"I am not; he used magic to thwart me at every turn. He failed many times though, why do you think Uther died, or Elyan?" She dangled the entrancing snake in front of him, "Think on it, how would you have survived all these years if it hadn't been for magic?"

Gwaine froze the memories playing back over in his head. "He did it to help us, unlike you! He is good and he must have had his reasons. No Morgana, I will not believe he meant me evil, certainly not coming from you!"

"Oh you idiot knight, he never wanted to hurt you. Magic doesn't make you bad as my senseless father thought and feared!"

"So this is just you then, you became this twisted on your own."

"No, you owe this to Uther and Merlin." She leant forward, "And I'll tell you a secret, you and all the knights played a part in this every time you acted out against magic, against my kind, even when they were peaceful and hadn't done anything wrong." And with that she told the snake to bite one last time.

Gwaine screamed, the painful yelled socking Percival into awareness. He strained over and over before breaking the rope that bound him. But still, the towering knight was too late, by the time he reached his comrade, Morgana was gone.

"I told her." The usually joyful knight whispered, "I failed." The pain of ages echoing through his voice, the raw sorrow and anger worse than any pain the Nathair had dealt.

Percival stared mutely before embracing his friend as the worthy knight of Camelot died in his arms.

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**A/N: I really don't know why I'm doing this to myself. But I hope you're enjoying it at least.**

**Please review!**


	3. The Mortal Death of a High Priestess

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I actually though I'd posted the last part already; whoops. **

**(Also, **

**If any of my MF readers are reading, then that's going on hiatus due to a lack of readers/busyness. **

**And to the TLSOS readers, I am very very sorry for the delay, I should be posting quite a few chapters soon, I want to give you guys more that one though, so I don't feel too bad about having taken so long to update.)**

**Anyways, ONWARDS!**

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The Mortal Death of a High Priestess.

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Morgana pulled up her black stallion when she spied Merlin and Arthur through the trees. She tried gearing it on but the horse was lathered in sweat and breathing heavily, she'd run it ragged to catch up with them and they were so close! Without a moment's thought she leaped off the horse, leaving it to rest and crashed through the foliage trying to reach the King of Camelot and his manservant.

She lost sight of them when she entered the thicket, the tall trees covering them from sight even with the higher ground, going from instinct she ran and slid down the hill, kicking up dirt in her path and nearly tripping multiple times but at last she reached them. She paused for a moment in the foliage as she watched Merlin help Arthur off his horse, smiling she sent out a bit of magic scaring the horses away.

"Hello Emrys." She said stepping out into the foliage and throwing him backward with her magic. Ignoring his unconscious form she walked towards Arthur, "Lovely to see you Arthur, look at you, not so tall and mighty now. You may have won the battle but you've lost the war, You're going to die by Mordreds hand. Oh don't worry dear brother, I wont let you die alone, I will stay and watch over you, until the wolves gorge on your carcass and bathe in your blood."

"What happened to you Morgana?" He said, echoing the words from long ago.

"Our father Uther and your precious manservant Merlin." She smirked coldly, "You have yourself to blame as well, instead of listening and helping, and all you did is extend the vicious circle of life and death, of pain and betrayal."

"No, I did what I thought was right, because all I'd seen of magic was evil and corrupt, you didn't set a very good example yourself. Instead of trying to sway me, your first response was to try and kill our father." Arthur stated calmly watching the fire dim in his sister's eyes and, not expecting a response he whispered. "You knew Merlin had magic."

"I've known for some time now. How does it feel Arthur, knowing that all your victories were due to something you despise? That you would be nothing, that you would be dead a hundred times over if not for something you regard with fear and disdain?"

"I don't believe that."

"You don't believe that magic is the reason?" Morgana said laughing, "Then you're still as blind and oblivious as you ever were."

"No." Arthur said wheezing, "I don't believe magic is inherently evil, not anymore. Not after all it's done for me."

Morgana started laughing, "The Great Arthur Pendragon finally believing that magic can be used for good, I don't believe it!"

But before Arthur could respond, Merlin got to his feet behind Morgana.

"The time for all this bloodshed is over. I blame myself for what you've become but this has to end." Merlin breathed.

"I'm a high priestess; no mortal blade can kill me." Morgana taunted sardonically, looking at the blade held in Merlin's hands.

"This is no mortal blade, like yours it was forged in a dragons breath." He told her as Merlin stabbed the blade into her.

_'You said the time for bloodshed was over.' _She spoke through her mind, _'I guess you lied, like you always do.'_

Merlin bowed his head, _'I wanted no part of this, I never wanted to see you dead.'_

_'But, it is fitting, is it not? That the one who first poisoned me, is the one to end it all.' _

_'Morgana please believe that I am sorry.'_

Merlin felt her laughter rocketing around his head, _'I dare say you are sorry. For all that you've done. For your crimes against me and against magic. Even after all this, even as I die in your arms, I die in the knowledge that you failed,_ _you will not get Arthur to Avalon in time...' _Her words trailed off towards the end, so that he could barely hear her.

Mindless of Arthur he shouted with both mind and voice, _"NO! MORGANA!" _He screamed, begging her to take back her prophecy.

"I - ... forgive you... Merli-…" The words died on her lips as the high priestess died a mortal death.

"Goodbye Morgana." Merlin whispered to her, mourning her death and the death of all she could have been in his head. Her last words piercing his heart, not with joy but only sorrow and so many unknown emotions. Because she knew the way to hurt him the most was in those words. But he shrugged away the the thought, he needed to carry on with his duty.

Arthur stared on in silence. "You brought peace at last."

"Come on." Merlin replied, trying to ignore Arthur's words and pulling his King up.

'You have failed.'

'I forgive you.'

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**A/N: That wasn't quite what I expected to happen, but oh well. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**R&R please! **


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